Portable display cabinet



Nov. 4, 1941. B. B. SMITH 9 PORTABLE DISPLAY CABINET Filed Feb. 20, 19402 Sheets-Sheet 1' Nov. 4, 1941.

B. SMITH v PORTABLE DIsPLAflcABINET 2 a m m A5 w mWv mm; 2 J0 f a M A g2 j F A% m a: i m g Patented Nov. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICEPORTABLE DISPLAY CABINET Bruce Burgess Smith, San Marine, Calif.

Application February 20, 1940, Serial No. 319,891 I L Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in portable display cases or whatmay be referred to as sample cases.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved portable displaycase within which samples, such as shoe samples, can be convenientlypacked for purposes of transportation and which can be opened and set upin an upright self-supporting position in such a manner that the sampleswill be nicely displayed thereon "so that the various samples can becompared and contrasted in making selections. a Shoe salesmen heretoforehave been forced to carry their samples inportable cases divided intocompartments and difiiculty has been experienced in removing the varioussamples from the compartments and finding space in which to arrange themso that they may be properly exhibitedto a prospective purchaser.Considerable time is involved in unpacking and repacking the samplecases but an important di fficulty experienced is in finding sufficientspace on which the samples may be mounted to enable their being properlyexhibited. By means of the present invention the sample case or displaycabinet provides its own support for all of the various samples and thearrangement is 'such that all samples may be simultaneously exhibitedside by side whereby the prospective purchaser is given an excellentopportunity to compare and contrast them. Being self-supporting andserving to supportall of the samples, it is unnecessary to find space atthe purchasers place of business on which to deposit the samples fordisplay purposes, Furthermore if occasion should require moving of thedisplayed samples while in their display position the entire structuremay be readily moved from place to place.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable display case inwhich the various parts are compactly and neatly arranged so that theentire set of samples may be conveniently and easily packed in arelatively small space and yet when the structure is set up in displayposition the samples will be displayed adequately without giving acramped appearance. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a drawer or traystructure on which the samples are supported and to provide a novelmeans for clamping or maintaining the samples thereon enabling a sampleto be easily and quickly removed when this is desired for closerinspection yet maintaining the samples firmly onthe drawers or trays sothat they will not become disturbed or mixed during transportation andshipment.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be mademanifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointedout in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a prospective View of the improved display case in closed orcollapsed position, this being the position of the construction duringtransportation; I W

Fig. 2 is a prospective view, parts being broken away and shown invertical section illustrating an accessory that may be. advantageouslyem ployed to facilitate transportation of the display.

case;

Fig. 3. is a frontview in elevation of the display case the cover beingshown in open ,position but the drawers or trays being, illustrated inthe body of the case in stacked or shipping position'; 1 V a Fig. 4 is avertical section taken substantially upon the line 4-4 upon Fig. 3;

Fig.5 is a view in end elevation of the display case in openedpositionillustrating the, drawers or trays in display position thereon; I Fig. 6is a partial view in vertical section illustrating the manner ofattaching the removable or intermediate drawers or trays to the interiorof the cover; I

Fig. 7 is a partial view in vertical section illustrating the manner ofshifting those drawers or trays which remain. within the body of thecase from their stacked or packed position to dis play position;

Fig. 18 is a horizontal section taken substantially upon the line 88upon Fig. 4; and

.Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken substantially upon the line 9-9 uponFig. 8.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar. referencecharacters designate similar parts throughout, the improved portabledisplay case comprises a rectangular trunk or case I0 suitably supportedupon wheels or rollers II. The trunk or case is preferably divided toprovide a body'portion l2 and a cover portion l3, these being hingedlyconnected together by means of a hinge M. The line of division betweenthe body portion and the cover portion is such that the body portion istrapezoidal in shape in end elevation whereas the cover portion istriangular in shape in elevation so that when the cover is swung intoopen position, asshown in Fig. 5, the bottom of the cover issubstantially equal in width to thetop of the body and the forward edgesof the body and the cover form a substantially continuous straight line.

The details of construction of the trunk or case itself forms noimportant part of the present invention and may vary considerably. Itshould, however, conform to good practice in trunk or shipping casemanufacture and be equipped with suitable fastening devices, such as areindicated at l5 and handles or straps Hi.

In the preferred form of construction the interior of both the body andthe cover are lined suitably with fabric to present an attractiveinterior appearance when the case is opened.

Within the body there are disposed a plurality I of drawers or trayssome of which, for purposes' of clarity, are designated as alternatedrawers or trays 1 and others of which are designated as intermediatedrawers or trays l8. ers or trays are substantially equal to theinterior dimensions of the body |2 as to length and width. On theinterior of the end walls of the body 2 there project inwardly dowels orstuds I9, these dowels or studs being arranged adjacent the forward edgeof the end walls and being disfront of the end walls 22 to a pointadjacent the rear walls 2|. The studs l9 extend into and are slidable inthese slots. At the rear ends of the end walls 22 of the alternatedrawers or trays the slots 24 have offset portions 25 which extend thebalance of the distance across the end walls 2|. These offset portionsprovide shoulders 26.

The intermediate drawers or trays |8 are similar in construction to thealternate drawers or trays with the exception that instead of having theslots 24 they are equipped with shorter slots 21 constituting fingeropenings in the end walls. These intermediate drawers or trays are notfastened in any way to the body l2 of the cabinet but when they are instacked position, as shown in Fig. 4, they merely rest upon and aresupported 'by the subadjacent alternate drawer or tray On the interiorof the body l2 small clips or brackets 28 are mounted so as to beengageable by the rear corners of the alternate drawers or trayscooperating with the dowels or studs l9 in maintaining the intermediatetrays in horizontal position as shown in Fig. 7.

The trays are preferably equipped with partitions 29 which extend fromthe rea walls 2| forwardly toward the front wall 23 that preferablyterminate intermediate the front and back walls 23' and 2| as clearlyshown in Fig. 8. These partitions serve to separate the various samplesS. In the top edges of the partitions adjacent the rear thereof narrowsaw cuts 30 are formed and elastic fabric or webbing is inserted inthese cuts so as to extend across the back of each compartment 3|defined by the partitions. This elastic material may be maintained inthe cuts by means of the tacks or like fastening devices indicated at32.

As clearly shown in Fig. 8, when the samples S are positioned on thedrawers or trays within the compartments 3| they engage and stretch theportions of the elastic at the back of the compart- These drawment withthe result that the elastic urges the samples against the forward wall23 lightly clamping each sample in place on its drawer or tray. However,if it should be desired to remove a sample for closer inspection, thiscan be easily accomplished by merely lifting the toe of the sample abovethe top edge of the front wall. In replacing the sample it is merelynecessary to apply the heel or rear of the sample against the elasticand force it rearwardly until the toe can be re-positioned behind thefront wall.

In shipping the display cabinet from place to place the drawers or traysare stacked within the body as shown in Fig. 4, and the cover I3 swungdownwardly thereover. When it is desired to display the samples thecover is opened into the the intermediate drawers or trays the lowermosttray may be caused to assume a position as shown 'inFig. 5 wherein it ispartially resting on the floor and has its rear portion resting on thebottom forward edge of the body |2. The alternate drawer or tray nextabove is then caused to slide outwardly and forwardly upon its dowels orstuds [9 until its dowels or studs encounter the shoulders26. It thenmay be tilted down so that its forward edge rests on the lowermost tray.Similarly, the alternate drawers or trays thereabove may be caused toslide forwardly and then be turned downwardly to rest one upon the otherin inclined display position.

The intermediate drawers or trays which have been removed from betweenthe alternate drawers or trays are then hooked onto the hooks 35 on thecover with the lowermost drawer or tray resting on the bottom forwardedge'of the open cover and the superposed drawers or trays resting oneupon the other in the inclined position as shown in Fig. ,5. In thismanner it will be appreciated that each of the drawers or trays ispositioned within the opened case in an inclined exhibiting position.The inclination as shown on Fig. 5, progressively increases from bottomto top so that a person viewing the various samples may readily andcompletely inspect all of the samples on the various trays. Inasmuch asall of the trays are supported within the cabinet or case it isunnecessary to locate space on which to deposit the sample-bearingtrays, and if occasion should require moving the structure while inexhibiting position this can be readily accomplished by rollingtheopened cabinet on the wheels or rollers Whenever it is desired to removeone of the alternate trays from the construction this is readilyaccomplished by lifting the tray when in its forwardmost position,causing the dowels or studs l9 to pass through the angular portions ofthe slots and to pass out through the rearmost or offset portions 25.New trays may be installed in the construction in the same manner.

In the preferred form of construction the wheels or rollers II areincapable of turning in the manner of a caster. However, when it isdesired to move the cabinet or case and to change .the direction ofmovement from that permitted bythe unidirectional wheels or rollers asmall dolly is provided as shown in Fig. 2, consisting of a shortsection of board 36 on which is mounted a rotatable caster 31. Thiscaster is slightly greater in height than the wheels or rollers H,

and by inserting this dolly beneath one end of the,

cabinet the cabinet will then be temporarily supported upon one pair ofwheels or rollers and the caster and may be readily transported fromplace to place with the direction and position of the cabinet changed asdesired.

From the above-described construction it will be appreciated that a verylarge number of samples can be easily and conveniently packed within thecabinet, and yet when it is desired to display these samples they may bereadily exhibited by properly positioning the drawers or trays in theirexhibiting positions as shown in Fig. 5. The time required to remove theintermediate trays and attach them to the cover and the time required torepack the cabinet is reduced to a minimum so that the salesman mayexhibit all of his samples very quickly, and when the customer has madehis selection the samples may be quickly re-packed and the entirestructure removed.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A portable display cabinet having a body, a hinged cover adapted tobe swung upwardly onto the body, a plurality of trays in the body, meansmounting alternate trays in the body enabling them to assume parallelhorizontal positions therein or inclined display positions therein, theintermediate trays fitting between the alternate trays when in the body,and cooperative means at the backs of the intermediate trays and on theinterior of the cover for fastening the intermediate trays to theinterior of the cover when the cover is in upstanding open positionwhereby the intermediate trays may be removed and mounted in the coverin display positions therein.

2. A portable display cabinet having a body, a hinged cover adapted tobe swung upwardly onto the body, a plurality of trays in the body, meansmounting alternate trays in the body for forward sliding and tiltingmovement therein whereby they may assume rear parallel horizontalpositions in the body or be slid forwardly therefrom and inclined intodisplay positions in the body, the intermediate trays when in the bodyfitting between the alternate trays, and cooperative means at the backsof the intermediate trays and on the interior of the cover for fasteningthe intermediate trays to the cover when the cover is in upstanding openposition whereby the intermediate trays may be removed and mounted inthe cover in display positions therein.

3. A portable display cabinet having a body, a hinged cover adapted tobe swung upwardly onto the body, a plurality of trays in the body, studsextending inwardly from the end walls of the body into slots in the endwalls of alternate trays whereby the alternate trays may assume parallelhorizontal positions in the body or be slid forwardly on the studs andassume inclined display positions therein, the intermediate trays whenin the body fitting between the alternate trays, and cooperative meansat the backs of the intermediate trays and on the interior of the coverfor fastening the intermediate trays to the cover when the cover is inupstanding open position whereby the intermediate trays may be removedand mounted in the cover in display positions therein.

4. A portable display cabinet having a body, a hinged cover adapted tobe swung upwardly onto the body, a plurality of trays in the body, studsextending inwardly from the end walls of the body into slots in the endwalls of alternate trays whereby the alternate trays may assume parallelhorizontal positions in the body or be slid forwardly on the studs andassume inclined display positions therein, the intermediate trays whenin the body fitting between the alternate trays and cooperative means atthe backs of the intermediate trays and on the interior of the cover forfas-' tening the intermediate trays to the cover when the cover is inupstanding open position whereby the intermediate trays may be removedand mounted in the cover in display positions therein, the slots in theend walls of the alternate trays having downwardly ofiset rear portionsproviding shoulders engageable by the studs to limit forward slidingmovement of the alternate trays but permitting the alternate trays beingentirely removed from the body on passing the studs through said ofisetportions.

BRUCE BURGESS SMITH.

